US sends envoy with Mubarak ties

The Obama administration has sent a diplomatic troubleshooter with close ties to Egypt on a mission to Cairo to meet President Hosni
Mubarak
and senior officials, as the White House struggles to gauge Mr Mubarak’s intentions amid a fast-moving situation.

The diplomat, Frank Wisner, a former ambassador to Egypt who knows Mr Mubarak, landed in Cairo on Monday, State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said. He declined to say whether Mr Wisner, who was ambassador from 1986 to 1991, carried a message from US President
Barack Obama
.

The choice of Mr Wisner, 72, a respected elder of the foreign policy establishment, raised questions as to whether the administration was using him as an emissary to gently prod Mr Mubarak to resign.

Administration officials declined to say whether Mr Wisner was carrying any kind of message. But one senior official said: “When you have old friends get together, it’s a two-way conversation."

Speaking to reporters, Mr Crowley said: “We’ve sent a very clear message to Egypt, publicly and privately. But obviously ambassador Wisner will have the opportunity to reinforce what we’ve already said."

Although Mr Wisner is a decade younger than the 82-year-old Mr Mubarak, friends said he was the right generation to speak candidly to the Egyptian President about his options. If he were to nudge Mr Mubarak to step down, those friends said, he probably would not do so immediately but over a series of conversations.